United Nations International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals

The United Nations International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals (MICT) is an international court established to handle the remaining functions of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) and the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY). Its mandate includes completing any pending trial or appeal proceedings, assisting national jurisdictions, and preserving the archives of the tribunals. Recently, the MICT has been in the news due to the deaths of high-profile individuals in its custody. Ratko Mladic, a convicted war criminal responsible for genocide in Bosnia, died in prison while serving his sentence. Similarly, Félicien Kabuga, a Rwandan genocide suspect accused of financing mass killings, died in The Hague while in MICT custody, after being declared unfit to stand trial. These events highlight the MICT's ongoing role in managing the legal consequences of past atrocities and ensuring justice, even posthumously, for perpetrators of the most serious international crimes.